Blue Eyes Investigations
by Denebola
Summary: From silverspoon to badapple to gumshoe: The sole inheritor of the Kaiba fortune, and widely suspected teen murderer, wants you to trust him with your secrets. Seto Kaiba can handle jail, finances, and even monsters, but friends? He can only take so much.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Mix a bunch of genre shows together, and then point and laugh. This is that story.

* * *

_Prologue_

* * *

**The Domino Chronicle**

Friday, April 13

**Murderous Heir Goes Private... Again**

_From silver spoon to bad-apple to gumshoe: The sole inheritor of the Kaiba fortune, and widely suspected teen murderer, wants you to trust him with your secrets._

By Mai Valentine  
_mvalentine(at)domchron(dot)com_

DOMINO CITY, Ca. -- Detective Olivier Rafael of the Domino City Police Department said in a Chronicle exclusive interview yesterday that he is "hopeful" regarding alleged killer Seto Kaiba's decision to embark upon his own unsolicited business venture: Blue-Eyes Investigations.

"I think that it's a move in a positive direction for Mr. Kaiba. After everything that has happened in the last year, I'm hopeful that perhaps some more time out of the spotlight to pursue justice will help him find his place in the world."

As regular readers are well aware, The Chronicle was the first to break the story of young Seto Kaiba's arrest, and the report of his father's mysterious death following a stormy argument between the two that occurred last August. We here at The Chronicle have been following the story since, even after most major media outlets also began covering the homicide.

Although Seto Kaiba was never indicted for the murder due to "insufficient evidence," his younger brother, whose name The Chronicle has chosen not to publish due to his status as a minor, hastily paid his sibling's $500,000 bail costs, before the two went into hiding at the Kaiba Mansion and refused to give any public statements. The public, as well as officials, still taste the bitterness of lingering doubt.

"In this country, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Mr. Kaiba was released as an innocent man, and his public record reflects that," was Detective Rafael's response to the question, _"Do you, like most who are familiar with the case, believe Seto Kaiba is guilty of murdering his father?" _As the lead investigator of the brutal homicide of the CEO of the Kaiba Corporation, Gozaburo Kaiba, Detective Rafael has a unique perspective on the events that took place the night of the murder, as well as those following Gozaburo's adopted son's arrest. When pressed for a more personal answer to the inquiry of the Kaiba heir's guilt, Detective Rafael would only say, "I can't _know_ what happened that night between Seto and Gozaburo Kaiba. Only Seto Kaiba does. And _he_ says that he did not kill his father. The DCPD investigators did not find enough evidence to pursue the contrary. That's the _only_ reason why he wasn't prosecuted." After this statement, Detective Rafael left in a hurry, citing that another case needed his immediate attention.

Following the scandal, the Kaiba brothers receded into the bowels of the Kaiba Mansion. According to former servants, the elder Kaiba insulated himself in his quarters for weeks on end, only receiving sustenance through a dumbwaiter, and ignoring the heartfelt requests of his brother to leave his darkened room, and rejoin the living. Just two months after Seto's self-imposed exile began, he suddenly filed for both Emancipation, possibly spurred by being charged as an adult for murder at the turbulent age of sixteen, and for sole custody of his younger, eleven-year old brother. With the assistance of his lawyer, Charles Johnson, who also served as his counsel during Mr. Kaiba's brief time as a defendant, as well as being one of five acting employees on the Board of Directors of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba was awarded Minor Emancipation, and custody of his brother at the tender age of seventeen. These legal decisions were shocking and unheard of in most parts of the country.

Two weeks after Seto Kaiba's accelerated ascension into legal adulthood, his home, the cliffside Kaiba Mansion, at an estimated worth of over 33.5 million dollars, burnt to the ground. Arson was suspected, but an investigation deemed the origin of the blaze inconclusive. No one was reported injured in the fire, a strange and nearly miraculous outcome, considering the Mansion's staff of over 100 employees. Whether this was just another entry into the list of random tragic events that surround Seto Kaiba, or something more calculated, may never be discovered. A statement issued several days after the disaster by the newly instated head of the PR Department of KaibaCorp, Damian Lector, former assistant to Gozaburo Kaiba, (where Seto Kaiba still holds 51 percent of the stock-shares of the weapons manufacturing company as Willed by his father) read:

_"Mr. Seto Kaiba and his brother wish to grieve over all of their losses in peace, and at this time, feel that they can only be allowed this in an undisclosed location. Until further notice, all business dealings of the Kaiba Corporation are to be entrusted to the Board of Directors, with Vice President Kenneth Gansley acting as CEO in Seto Kaiba's absence. The Kaiba brothers sincerely request compliance by the media and the public in these matters. Thank you."_

While The Chronicle sympathizes with the mourning process that would be inevitable after the events over the last year, we continued to search for the location of the two remaining Kaibas long after the rest of the media stopped running bylines concerning them. Despite various sightings and accounts of the two from around the globe over several months, no one could pinpoint Seto Kaiba's location at any given time.

Until now - Last week a lease form was filed by Seto Kaiba for an office building in the least likely place we expected to find him: Back home, in Domino City. Why Mr. Kaiba chose to keep a low profile is unknown, though probably easy to guess. However, the company name cited on the application is even more intriguing: Blue-Eyes Investigations.

Further research revealed that Seto Kaiba also filed an application for a License to Practice Private Investigation, and it is likely that it has been awarded. All things considered, it looks as though Domino's own Prodigal Son has returned, and plans to stay a while.

The impending address of Blue-Eyes Investigations is 666 Millennium Lane, a location which no doubt Mr. Kaiba picked purposely. The clandestine nature of Seto Kaiba's machinations in procuring a residence of business should not be overlooked, given his history. The question that citizens of Domino will soon be asking themselves is this: "Can I trust someone to find the truth for me, when he may be denying the truth himself?"

The Blue-Eyes Investigations Office is quietly having its Grand Opening next week. Perhaps their first case could be the unsolved murder of Gozaburo Kaiba.

-

-

_The Domino Chronicle is Copyright - Mai Valentine: Editor for The Domino Chronicle Online Newspaper. All questions, and comments concerning the site can be sent to the Webmaster: rraptor(at)domchron(dot)com_

_The Domino Chronicle: They line them up, we push them down._

* * *

Author's Notes: Alright. I'm trying something new. Despite the seeming heaviness of this chapter, I'm going to try my best to keep this story free of angst unless angst is the most logical response (or unless Kaiba insists). I don't have some bigger arching plot in mind, and I have no idea how this will end. I'm not used to this kind of freedom, and it allows for some actual _fun_ when writing! I only put this in the humor category to force myself to keep things light, since I've been told that humor and dialogue are my strengths. And boy do I plan to have fun with this! I'm just going to completely indulge myself, and celebrate my favorite parts of Yu-Gi-Oh (the characters!), and remind _myself_ why I love it so much. I hope you guys reading enjoy it as well, and stick around for the ride! Thanks for reading! 

-Edit: Re-uploaded with slightly altered numbers and words, so that I could keep my timeline straight. Nothing too signifigant. Just to clarify for those nit-pickers out there (like me), Kaiba was sixteen when he was arrested, but seventeen by the time he got custody of Mokuba. Carry on.


	2. The No Good, Very Bad Night

Disclaimer: I don't own any Yu-Gi-Oh. But I know a guy who knows a guy who can get you some...

* * *

Special Note(s): This chapter takes place the night _before_ the previous chapter was "published" (in story, it's currently Thursday, April 12). Also, in this story, the relationships between the characters will be slightly different. For example, Joey has never met Yugi, or at least never been introduced to him. And Joey's dad is from Boston, which is the only explanation I have for why Joey has that bizarre accent. I don't _know_ why Joey has it and Serenity doesn't. Blame 4Kids. Some things just can't be reconciled... Oh, and lastly, after the divorce, Joey's mom didn't move out of Domino with Serenity, just to a different area of town. Joey and Serenity attend different schools. I think that's all for now. Enjoy!

* * *

The No Good, Very Bad Night

* * *

"Serenity? Wait, what? I can't hear ya. You're cuttin' out." A green, frequently broken down pick-up swerved violently on the road, almost taking off the side-mirror on the car beside him as the driver sped past. The pounding rain obscured the dark highway ahead, and with the brightest light source only being the near full moon that was hanging in the sky, it didn't help the teenage boy behind the wheel that he already had one headlight out. And at least one taillight, damnit. 

_"/-Joey- ... -crazy ... afraid- ... maniac-... -help ... won't belie- ... monster- ...shoot- .. apitated head- ... here-... hear me?/"_

Joey's little sister, Serenity, called him right when he was on his way back from a delivery to some geezer and a kid that lived out in the country. Not only had his brat bit him when he handed over the bag, the guy didn't even bother tipping him before he slammed the door in his face, and on his way out of the dude's horse-poop infested front lawn, he'd tripped over a rake, splitting open his lip on some rusted farming equipment, and landed in some stale hay, nursing a possibly broken a toe. His shoes were being held together by some measly superglue, and weren't all that great for foot protection. He knew he should have put down the cash for some new sneakers by now, but utility bills didn't pay themselves, and he couldn't go four days without a shower again, no matter how much fun it had seemed _at first_ the last time they lost the water. But an unexpected phone call from Serenity on his cell phone made him forget all about his typically misfortune filled night. Joey had no idea what was wrong, but he was driven to protect his sister, and wouldn't let the weather, his job, or that little arrow hovering over the red empty line on his gas gauge stop him.

"Serenity! I'm turnin' around right now! I'll be there as soon as I can!" Joey shouted into his phone, hoping that she could hear him over the static. The phone cut out in the middle of his sentence, and the line went dead. "Freakin' storm!" He slammed on the breaks, and made a sharp and very illegal turn, narrowly avoiding a three-vehicle accident as the sound of several car horns pierced through the darkness.

Joey knew if he went the speed limit it would be at least twenty minutes before he reached his sister's (and mother's, he apprehensively reminded himself) place. They lived out in this little suburban community safely located on the outskirts of town, the kind where everybody had to have a basketball goal, and people left their boat and jet-skis parked in the driveway to make sure everyone knew they owned them. He hated places like that, but he grudgingly admitted that it was probably the best for Serenity. It wasn't like she could live with him and dad. That was a nightmare he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.

"I'm comin', Serenity..."

* * *

"Hey Joey, it's me. You're gonna think I'm crazy, but I was afraid I left my jacket in your truck the last time I saw you. I looked everywhere for it like a maniac, and finally with Duke's help, I found it under my bed." Serenity Wheeler smiled kindly at her best friend Duke Devlin, who was seated on her bed, playing with a worn-out action figure. "But you won't believe what else I found! Remember that little toy monster football player you used to love? The one that can shoot its decapitated head? I found it! You thought you left it here a few years ago, remember?" 

"Serenity, do _you_ remember you have a test tomorrow?" Duke prodded, pointedly glancing at his watch. He carefully tossed the little yellow monster onto her pillow. Duke was sweet and smart, and very affectionate. Serenity always felt so lucky to have him as a friend. Though he was a grade above her, he would regularly cancel any other plans he had to spend time with her. Tonight, he had volunteered to come over, even though he knew her mom was away, just so that he could help her study for a final tomorrow.

Serenity held up a finger to shush him, which he immediately obeyed. "Anyway, Joey, I just wanted you to know it's here in case you were still wondering. All right, well, I love you, and I'll talk to you later, okay?" Joey didn't respond. "Joey? Can you hear me?"

_"/-Inity...-ound now-.. be there... can!/"_

"Uh-oh." Serenity Wheeler held the ringtone blaring phone out to Duke. "It cut out on him. I think he might be headed over here."

Duke looked at her fearfully. "Are you serious? Crap." Off Serenity's look, he hurriedly tried to elaborate. "It's just, he _hates_ me."

Serenity took a seat next to him on the bed, and placed a hand on his thigh in concern. "He doesn't hate you, Duke. He just _loves_ _**me**_ very very much. He's protective of me."

Duke glanced down at her hand on his leg, and covered it with his own. "Ah, yes. _Protective love_: The love that compels to _kill_."

Shaking his hand off, Serenity frowned lightly at her friend. "I wish you and Joey could get along. You're the two most important guys in my life."

Serenity's heart warmed as Duke instantly perked up. "Really? Most important, huh? That's a pretty short list."

"Yep. My brother, and my best friend. You guys are it." Serenity never felt comfortable talking about her father. She loved him, but it was just too painful. She could see in her brother's eyes, what kind of man he'd become. Mom was right. If only she would realize that it didn't make loving her father despite his flaws, wrong.

"Right... friend." Duke echoed sulkily, turning his head away from her.

"_Best_ friend. You're the best I've ever had, and the best I ever will have, Duke." Serenity had discovered along the way that Duke was a complicated sort of person. Sometimes she felt like she knew him, and others he would have a complete mood swing, and refuse to discuss why, leaving her grasping at straws for something to say to make him feel better. She found that espousing about his many virtues seemed to do the trick most of the time. Maybe it was an ego thing. Boys were strange.

Duke shifted closer to her on the bed. "You know, Serenity, I think that we're more than just friends..."

"Yeah._ Best friends_."

Duke sighed, stood up, and walked towards the door. "Look, if your brother's gonna be here, I should probably go."

There he went again! Why did all of the perceptive and sensitive boys have to be so moody and unpredictable? "Duke, you don't have to leave. I'd really like your help with this algebra for tomorrow..."

Duke stopped at the door, and looked back at her with a knowing grin. "You're right. What would you do without me? I shouldn't be afraid of what your brother thinks."

Serenity smiled sweetly at him. "Exactly. Joey's nothing to be scared of-"

A loud scraping noise suddenly erupted from what sounded like the outside wall of the house, sending Duke bolting for her closet.

_**"Hide me!"**_

Serenity jumped, but calmed down when she caught sight of Duke trying to scramble into her closet. It had two doors that pulled apart to open in the middle, and Duke's upper body was sandwiched inside, trapped halfway in do to his haste to find cover. Clothes were falling off her hangars onto his head, and gave the illusion that he was struggling to try on some of her dresses.

Serenity turned away, and tried not to laugh. _Poor Duke_, she thought. "That sounded like it came from outside. You stay here; I'll go check."

"_Wait!_ ...You're gonna leave me here all alone?" He asked, in his most pathetic voice. He was making his way back out of the closet, but his right leg was pinched in between the doors, and an assortment of multi-colored halter tops were wrapped around his neck.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back. It could just be Joey. You know how fast he drives sometimes."

Duke hurriedly threw some of the shirts off, having just noticed what Serenity kept smirking at. "That's true. At the speed he goes, it would only take one good ramp for him to soar over traffic for miles."

Serenity lowered her lashes teasingly. "Think so? Did you learn that formula in algebra?"

"Joey plus car divided by lazy cops times Serenity to the tenth power equals _liftoff_. It's towards the back of the book. Most teachers don't get to it in a single school-year, so I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it," Duke said matter-of-factly.

Serenity's peal of laughter was interrupted by a repeat of the scratching noise from outside.

Duke's eyes widened, spooked. "Um, if that's your brother, he sounds pretty mad. He's probably seen my car. Maybe I should just stay here."

Serenity was spooked as well. "Maybe you should." She turned to go.

"Serenity! Wait." Duke was halfway back in her closet, trying to exit from a different angle, but this attempt seemed just as fruitless, when he merely popped an arm out, clutching a handful of clothes.

She stopped. "What?"

Duke's hand was shaking an emerald green silk shirt. "Do you think I could borrow this? "It would really bring out my eyes," Duke's muffled voice asked from inside her closet.

Serenity rolled her eyes in mock exasperation, shook her head, and left the room.

"Serenity? Seren_iiityyy_... I'm not kidding..." She was gone. He heard the front door fly open and bang against its hinges from the wind. She must have left it open a crack.

Duke examined the shirt more closely through the space between the two doors, taking note of the 100 percent silk verification on the tag. "Oh, she had better hurry up, or I'm totally stealing this shirt."

* * *

"I sure hope Joey gets here soon," Serenity whispered, as she went around to the side of the house. She hadn't realized that the rain was driving so hard until she became soaked and the door nearly flew off its hinges when she came outside. Arcs of lightening lanced through the sky every once in a while, and the further she walked from the warm light shining through the glass in the living room window, the more she wished she'd thought to bring Duke with her. Or at the very least, an umbrella. 

The noise sounded more like a slamming than just scraping now, and she was sure that as soon as she turned the next corner, she would be face to face the horrendous source of the screeching. Steeling herself, she waited a beat, then jumped around the corner, her heart in her throat.

She ducked right in time for something long and white to swoop down at her head through the rain, which let out a scream as it ran along the aluminum siding, before it swung back up towards the roof.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding..." Serenity grumbled, crouched down in the mud. "Look like it's a good thing Joey's coming out after all." She could only imagine how silly Duke would feel once she told him what they had both been so panicked over.

Avoiding the loose gutter that had come unhinged from the roof due to the rain, which she would have to ask Joey if he could fix since he was the best handyman she knew, Serenity moved to go back inside, only to hear a different noise coming from the bushes behind her.

_What... what is that whimpering?_

She quickly turned around, only to see a blur of fur outlined in the rain as a large black shape tackled her against the side of her house.

A bolt of lightening struck nearby, and everything went dark.

* * *

"Serenity!" Joey dashed through the front door, which was ajar a few feet, fearing the worst. 

When he'd pulled up to the house, none of the lights were on, and there was a strange car parked in the driveway. He'd quickly pulled a flashlight out of his glove box, and barreled for the home of his sister and mother. When he'd reached the front porch, to his horror, he got sight of a trail of blood with the light.

"Serenity!" he called again, following the blood on the carpet through the house. His knees were shaking, and he was sure he might be sick to his stomach if he didn't find his sister soon, and see that she was safe.

"We're in here!" a male voice shouted to him, muffled by the bathroom door.

Bracing himself, Joey shoved the flashlight into his pocket, took a deep breath, and kicked in the bathroom door with all of his strength.

_"AAaaahh!"_

The small room was illuminated by a single candle, sending warm orange light bouncing across the white tiled walls. He entered to see Serenity, the candle creating a halo of light around her red hair, bent over the sink.

"Serenity, are you o-"

A hand reached out from the behind the door, and pushed him into the bathtub. "What the _hell_, man?!" A boy his age with long raven hair pulled back in a ponytail emerged from behind the door Joey had kicked in, clutching his nose with one hand.

"Duke!" Serenity chastised, helping her brother out of the tub, "Joey was just worried that something was wrong, weren't you Joey?"

The two boys stared each other down, and the candle flickered when a breeze blew through the house from the open front door.

"Ow," said Serenity, applying something to her arm. Joey belatedly noticed that the blood trail led to her, and ended on the spots that were still dripping from her wrist.

"Oh geez! Serenity, what happened?" Joey rushed over to her, and yanked his flashlight out to better view the wound. Duke squeezed around him to stand on her other side. The beam of light made it clear that not only was Serenity bleeding, but she was soaked from head to toe, and her clothes were clinging to her body. Joey narrowed his eyes at Duke, who took the cue to back away from his little sister.

"Oh, the gutter's loose outside, and I went to check and see what all the racket was, but on my way back in, the neighbor's dog surprised me." Serenity held up her arm, and there was a nasty-looking bite mark just under her hand. Some of the teeth marks were bleeding, and it looked very painful, but Joey was impressed to see no tears running down his sister's face.

"Where's mom?"

"Still at work," Serenity replied, and seated herself on the closed toilet as Joey took over rubbing alcohol on the wound with cotton balls. Duke slumped against the wall angrily.

"That mutt should be put down for this," he announced, scowling out the bathroom door, as if the dog could see his withering glare through the walls of the house.

Serenity quickly looked up from Joey's ministrations. "Oh, don't say that. He was only being friendly."

Both boys scoffed.

"It was a love-bite..." she defended quietly.

"Serenity, you're _bleedin'_," Joey nearly yelled, wrapping a bandage he'd found under the sink around her wrist.

"It was a love-_maul_," insisted Duke, as usual, blown away by the extent of Serenity's kindness.

As if just remembering that Duke was there, Joey looked accusingly at Serenity's "friend" who was watching the siblings in the candlelight. "And just where were ya when my sista was out there alone in da rain gettin' mauled in da dark, Devlin?" Joey demanded, standing and moving into a fighting pose.

The screeching sounded once again, this time magnified even louder because Joey left the front door open.

Joey dropped his fists, and panickedly whipped around in a circle to find the source of the noise. "What da heck was dat?!" he exclaimed.

Serenity couldn't help a small chuckle, despite the pain in her wrist. "It's the gutter outside. I was thinking maybe you could put it back up after the roof dries."

"No kiddin'? Sure, I would love to, sis." The slightly proud gleam in Joey's eyes faded, and he started rubbing the back of his neck, the way Serenity knew he did when he was nervous about something. "Uh, do ya know what mom's work hours will be this weekend? I don't wanna drop by if she's busy with somethin', ya know..."

Serenity knew that wasn't why he was so wary about when their mother would be home. Joey and mom had an awkward relationship at best. Joey was still angry with mom for leaving, angry with dad for staying, and angry with himself for letting him and Serenity be separated in the first place.

"She'll be working all weekend. Twelve-hour shifts, seven-to-seven, Saturday and Sunday." Joey nodded, but Serenity wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. "But you know Joey, mom would love to see you if you come by after she gets off work."

Joey turned away from her, and as Duke watched Serenity's face fall, he suddenly felt like a voyeur - some stranger watching a family try to salvage their scattered belongings together after a tornado destroyed their home.

"Maybe I'll check to see if that dog is still out there. He shouldn't be allowed to just run ramp-"

Joey interrupted Duke, and abruptly pushed passed him out the door. "I'll check. You take care of Serenity. Dat dog betta pray I don't get a hold of him." He stormed out of the house, taking the flashlight with him.

Duke gave Serenity a sympathetic smile in the hazy candlelight, but she couldn't find it in her to smile back.

* * *

A bolt of lightning etched through the sky as soon as he walked outside, but Joey ignored it. The thunder that followed seemed louder than normal, and only served to agitate him further. "Here doggy. Com'ere, ya rabid little..." Shining the flashlight through the dark wasn't much help, since all it illuminated were the thousands of raindrops that surrounded him as he walked around the side of the house. 

He could hear the squeaking of the gutter as it was lambasted by the storm, and decided to investigate there first, since that was the area Serenity was attacked in. He turned the corner hesitantly, instinctively sensing that there might be danger. Upon shining the light a few feet ahead of him, he saw he was right.

A large black dog was standing right in his path with its shackles raised and teeth bared, staring him down. Even with the rumbling and spattering in the background, Joey could clearly hear the furious growling of the dog. Somehow, even through the wall of rain, he could make out the beast's unblinking yellow eyes, completely focused on the blonde boy across from it.

He froze, waiting for the stray to back down. Even though he knew you weren't supposed to look a wild animal in the eye, the urge to do so - to prove to this _dog_ that he wasn't intimidated by it, was too strong. Joey stood his ground, pulled himself to his full height, and locked eyes with the stray.

The dog took a step back, opened its jaws, and let out a chilling howl.

"Joey!" Serenity's voice cut through the air from behind him.

"Serenity, _no_! Go back inside!" Joey commanded, breaking the dog's gaze to watch as his little sister ran up to him, looking terrified. He automatically moved to cover her from the dog, but when he turned back around, he saw something that made his blood run cold.

The dog was nowhere to be seen.

"Let's go back in. Now!" Joey didn't know where the thing went, but he wouldn't put it past the mongrel to make a trek through the bushes to launch a surprise attack on Serenity. It could probably smell the blood on her since the rain was soaking through the bandage.

He grabbed her un-injured arm, accidentally dropping his flashlight in the process, and flew back into the house, slamming the door behind him.

The pitch black didn't alleviate his fears, and when he felt more than saw something swiftly move towards him in the dark, he struck out with his fist, and made contact.

"Aggh! Oh, _come __**on**_!" Duke yelled, angry.

"Oops," said Joey, mildly.

"What happened? Are you guys all right? Joey?" came Serenity's frantic questions from beside Joey. He tightened is grip on Serenity's arm comfortingly.

"I'm fine, sis."

_"I'm not!"_

"Do you think it ran away?" asked Serenity, carefully moving towards where she believed the sofa to be in the dark.

"Oh, man, I think my nose is broken."

"I dunno. We probably shouldn't go out there 'till the power comes back on, at least." He followed his sister, and sunk down onto the couch beside her.

"_What?_ You mean that dog? It was out there, and you guys left the door wide open, _again_, so that it could come in here and maul _me_?" Duke was stumbling around off to the side of the room. "Is leaving the door open a Wheeler family trait, or were you two just born in a barn?"

"I never understood why people say that," Serenity said from beside Joey, "I mean, _Jesus_ was born in a barn."

"Huh. That's true," Joey agreed.

"Jesus was born in a _manger_. There's a difference," Duke argued, from another room.

"Oh yeah, farmer brown? What's the difference?" Joey challenged, craning his neck to locate Duke.

"So, does that mean Jesus would go around leaving doors open everywhere he went? You think someone would have said something to him. Or maybe that would have been sacrilegious..." Serenity pondered to herself.

"I don't know, I'm not a farmer! That's not really my area of expertise." Which was true. Duke was much more interested in the metaphysical world. He dabbled in tarot cards, palm reading, astrology, that sort of thing. Duke was a devout agnostic, but he still considered himself a spiritual person.

Serenity laughed, contemplating the discussion. "Hey Jesus! You left the door open again! Oh, by the way, thanks again for curing my debilitating leprosy..."

"Well maybe ya should keep your trap shut, if ya don't know what you're talkin' about," said Joey arrogantly, delighted to one-up Serenity's "friend."

Duke was in what seemed to be the kitchen, and a noise like tape being ripped up sounded from somewhere near him. "Okay, fine, whatever."

The lights flickered back to life at that moment, to everyone's relief.

Joey and Serenity both turned on the couch to see Duke in the kitchen, standing wide-eyed in front of the open refrigerator, mid-chug, gripping a half-gallon of milk. When he noticed that he was suddenly in plain sight, he guiltily put the milk back in the fridge, and lightly kicked the door closed.

"I, uh, didn't want it to go bad," he explained sheepishly, holding his arms behind his back.

Serenity got up and stretched. "Thank goodness the power's back on! I was worried that Duke and I were going be trapped here alone in the dark all night."

"Don't worry sis, I woulda let that happen _over my dead body_..." Joey directed the last part towards Duke, who flinched in response.

"You know what, I'm gonna go put out that candle in the bathroom. Wouldn't want anything to catch fire..." Duke flusteredly left the room.

"No, we wouldn't want that," mumbled Joey, smirking maliciously.

Serenity gasped loudly. "Joey! I almost forgot! I'll be right back!" By the time Joey jumped up after her, she had already run into her bedroom.

"Is he gone?" Duke asked, emerging from the bathroom.

Joey took a step towards him. Duke backed away.

"Here it is! Your football player guy, you remember, right, Joey?" Serenity skipped over to him, holding up a six-inch action figure.

Joey took it from her, and examined it. "Oohhh yeeaah..." He held it up to Duke. "Ya ever played with one 'a these, Devlin?"

Duke eyed the little yellow monster warily. "I was more into, um..."

"Dolls?" Joey suggested scornfully. Serenity elbowed him half-heartedly.

"_No_. Actually, I ... I was quite the skilled seamster in my youth."

"Seamster?"

"It's like a seamstress, only it's a boy," Serenity supplied.

Joey couldn't believe his ears. "Dat's open ta debate..." he said under his breath, shaking his head at the dark-haired boy.

Sensing that Joey's macho posturing tendency was about to overtake him (and his manners!), Serenity directed everyone's attention on the reason Joey had rushed over here in the first place.

"Do you think he still works?" She asked enthusiastically, pointing at the troll-like head on the toy.

Without hesitation, Joey aimed the toy at the other boy, squeezed the legs together, and the ugly baldhead shot off and hit Duke right in the eye.

"Dyaghh! _God!_" Duke spun away from them, holding both hands over his injured eye.

"Yup," Joey said happily, grinning.

"_Joey_," Serenity said sternly, frowning at her brother. He shrugged sheepishly, and smiled at her lazily in apology.

"Geez, Serenity, I'm really sorry." Joey's brown eyes twinkled mischievously, something that Serenity knew from experience meant that he might be less than sincere.

"_Joeeey_..." She scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. Despite what his super-masculine image projected, all it took was the almost indiscernible disappointed pout of his baby sister for him to get down on his knees and beg forgiveness.

He sighed, cupped his hands and yelled towards the bathroom, "Yo! Sorry 'bout dat, Dukey!"

"What-the-hell-ever, you _ass_!" It sounded like Duke was running water in the bathroom. And maybe crying.

Joey shrugged helplessly. "I tried."

Serenity put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know you did, Joey. Thank you."

"No prob, sis. Anything for you." Joey moved in for a spontaneous hug, but before he and Serenity could get their arms around each other, Duke's voice rang out.

"Oh God, I think I can _see_ the _blood_ in my _eye_!"

Joey and Serenity froze, and calmly extricated themselves from each other.

"Maybe you should go," Serenity suggested quietly.

"Maybe I should," he agreed. Joey reached down to pick up the discarded pop-off head, gave his sister a quick kiss on the cheek, and headed out. "I'll let ya know when I can come by this weekend, 'kay?"

"Thanks Joey. Watch out for that dog on your way out." Just mentioning the dog made her wrist itch where the beast had sunk its teeth into her. The thought of it hurting Joey too made her feel a little sick inside.

"Dat mangy thing better watch out for _me_. He'll really bite off more dan he can chew then." Joey swallowed his rage when he saw the drops of blood, Serenity's blood, decorating the carpet. "Love ya, sis. Be careful, awright?"

"Love you too, Joey."

With a wave, he left. Serenity watched the front door for a while, wishing that every conversation she had with her brother didn't have to end with goodbye.

"Phew. That was a close one, huh?" asked Duke, who was suddenly standing right beside her.

The pain in her wrist throbbed. "Too close," she replied, not quite able to mask her grouchiness.

Duke grabbed hold of her shoulders, and held her in front of him for inspection. "Oh, I'm sorry Serenity. I meant your brother, not the dog. You're okay, aren't you?"

The tenderness in his eyes caught Serenity off guard. "Yeah. Good thing Joey showed up after all, huh?

Duke frowned. "You know that _I_ would never let anything bad happen to you either, don't you Serenity?" They were standing very close now, but not as close as Duke would have liked.

"But..." Serenity pondered over Duke's question, "what about the dog? I mean, that _just_ _happened_-"

"Nothing _really_ bad," Duke immediately corrected. He let her go and took a step back. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Something akin to realization went off behind Serenity's eyes, and she observed Duke carefully. He felt his heart pound in his chest when she ran her unwounded hand down his arm, her eyebrows knit together in contemplation.

"Duke?"

"Yes, Serenity?" he asked hopefully.

"Why are you wearing my shirt?

* * *

**"Soon life will become more interesting**.**"** - Fortune cookie

* * *

Author's Notes: So there you have it. The actual first chapter. Mainly just a character introduction with an important event that will effect the rest of the story (and one character's life) occurs. I would have liked it to be funnier than it was, but I can't have everything be slapstick if I want anybody to have any depth at all. The fortune cookie thing (er, the relevance - I hope this particular quote related fairly obviously) will make more sense after the next chapter (which is two-thirds done), and I plan to have one at the end of each chapter. Finally, I changed the category from "Supernatural" to "Fantasy" because while it will have a lot of supernatural elements to it, I also want to blend in a lot of fantasy concepts, especially ones that I don't see used very often. Anyway - thanks for reading and I promise things will pick up once I get the characters all introduced. Review, and let me know if I at least got any smirks out of anyone! 


	3. Making an Acquaintance

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

* * *

**Making an Acquaintance**

* * *

"I kind of hate that woman," Mokuba Kaiba announced venomously. The young boy glared at the monitor of the computer he'd recently assembled to use for their new office. It figured. He dares to check the website that set off the horrible chain of events that sent them out of Domino in the first place, and what do ya know; there's Seto's name. Of _course_.

The building they were running Blue-Eyes Investigations from was being leased at an extremely prejudicial rate, Mokuba was sure, but in return, the bank promised to keep the place's newest inhabitants under the radar. His brother sure had changed. Just six months ago, he might have decked the guy for being treated unfairly. Now he went right along with the corruption, paying off whomever he needed to so that he could be left in peace. Mokuba knew Seto liked to maintain a low profile, but was it really worth letting people get away with taking advantage of his status?

The bank told them that the building was used as a doctor's office previously, but the place went under, and the bank refurbished all of the rooms, including the basement, in a less sterile, "homier" design. There was even an apartment downstairs, already furnished with appliances and everything. Since he and Seto had taken up residence in one of the penthouses that the company previously used for important visiting business associates on the top floor of KaibaCorp, the "basement suite" under their future workspace was pretty much just an extra (useless, in Seto's opinion) perk. Mokuba was going to convert it into an arcade, just as soon as Seto stopped growling "_**No**_," every time he mentioned it. When Mokuba had asked the elder Kaiba why they didn't just buy their own building, or just run the place out of KaibaCorp, Seto had told him that it was "Too expected. Too flashy. Too trivial to waste resources on." Mokuba pretended to understand, and left the topic alone.

They'd just gotten back in town last week, and already that nosy witch Mai Valentine had tracked them, and exposed their new arrangement to the world. He could swear sometimes that she only did it to get attention from his brother. Mai was like a lot of the women who threw themselves at his big brother: Greedy, vain, and self-absorbed to the point of forgetting that Seto was anything other than a big wad of cash wearing tailored slacks.

"Who?" Seto asked, dropping a cardboard box on top of the front desk, and reaching for a razor blade to cut open the tape on top. He had decided to simply purchase all of their new office equipment online from an office supply store, and just have it delivered all at once. Since they'd lost everything in the fire, and hadn't acquired much that would be helpful in running a business during the subsequent months, Seto decided to throw money at the problem until it went away.

Mokuba figured it meant that Seto considered shopping for office equipment among those "trivial" things. Heck, Seto considered _shopping_ one of those trivial things. He was _so_ antisocial sometimes...

"Who do you _think_?" Mokuba swiveled his monitor around, so that his brother could see what he was reading.

Seto was dressed down in only a black tank top and slacks for all of the heavy lifting. Mokuba felt a bit guilty that his brother volunteered to do most of the hard work himself, but Seto was stubborn if he was anything. He was sweating lightly from exertion, but refused to stop and take a break until he felt he'd made significant progress. Sometimes Mokuba thought that maybe Seto pushed himself too hard physically at times, just so that he would have an excuse not to punish himself mentally instead. Or maybe he just felt like carrying stuff right now. It was hard to tell.

The older Kaiba looked up from the fax machine he was putting together. "_The Domino Chronicle_? I thought I'd warned you about the health hazards of reading that drivel, Mokuba."

"Yeah, I know. But I just wanted to check real quick and see if "My Size Barbie" was still obsessing over you." Mokuba turned the monitor back around, and Seto shook his head at him.

"Some people just can't let things go," Seto said, in all seriousness.

Mokuba said nothing.

"She was so convinced that I would make her career. Turns out, the world cares even less for me than I do it," said Seto ruefully, as he replaced the box on the desk with an even larger one.

Okay, now Mokuba really hated her. "None of that matters anymore, remember? We're starting over. That two-faced bimbo better just hope she never runs into us again."

Seto dropped the box he was carrying, surprised at his little brother. Something that sounded like glass shattered inside it. "Mokuba..." He warned, bending over to retrieve the box.

"I'm sorry, bro, but you know I'm right. I daresay you hate the shameless harpy more than I do," Mokuba suggested, raising a playful eyebrow at his brother, who was checking inside the box to see what he'd broken.

Seto looked up from the smashed paperweights with barely concealed pride. The door to the lobby opened with a creak from behind him, sending sunlight flooding inside, stopping just short of where Seto stood. _"'Shameless harpy?'_, Mokuba?"

"You boys wouldn't be talking about me would you?" Asked Mai Valentine, strutting into their office, as brazen as ever.

Seto sighed disgustedly, and from what Mokuba gathered by studying his reaction, briefly considered chucking one of the paperweights at her in response, but he couldn't be sure.

"Speak of the devil..." Mokuba spat, quickly rising from behind the front desk to go stand by his brother, who had abandoned the boxes, and adopted a menacing posture, towering over the blonde woman as she approached him.

"I know that you meant "_she_-devil," Mokuba. I don't wear low-collared blouses just to be mistaken for a man," she revealed, stepping right up into the older Kaiba's face. "Nice place you've got here, Kaiba. I imagine if hell had a dentist's office, it would look something like this," she said snidely. "Quite a step down from the Kaiba Mansion, don't you think, and that asbestos hut was gutted by fire."

Seto glared down at her, not bothering to mask his revulsion. "I see you haven't lost your ability to make a man wilt at just the sight of you, Valentine."

"_Wilt_?" Mokuba asked to himself, confused.

The woman smirked, slightly offended. _Whatever, but __**good**_, Mokuba thought. "Aww, you remember me, I'm flattered. I was afraid you would forget me after all of that "fleeing with your tail between your legs" business you've been up to."

Seto's eyes hardened, and Mokuba worried if he might do something he would regret. "As if I could forget you even if I tried."

"You, and every man who's ever met me, honey. And many have tried." The woman smiled seductively up at the elder Kaiba, and lowered her voice to a husky pitch. "What makes you think thatyouwould be _special_,huh?"

"Get the hell out of my office," Seto demanded, (_Finally_, thought Mokuba) and cut her off before she could reply, "I don't _care_ why you're here, but you had better get your Versace-clad ass off of my property before I call the police."

The journalist took a step back from Seto, amused at his threat. "The police? So they can do what, drag an unarmed woman off of a patricidal murderer's crime scene in the making?" She scoffed, and turned so that her back faced them. "As if Amnesty International needed any more reason to hate you."

Mokuba felt rage flare up from the pit of his stomach, and he couldn't hold back any longer. "You heard him! Get the hell out!" He yelled, his hands clenching into fists. "You've already ruined our lives, what else do you _want_, you heartless-"

"Mokuba." Seto placed a steadying hand on his little brother's shoulder, his fingers lightly gripping into his flesh to comfort him. Mokuba stopped, his jaw aching from the strain of not screaming, and tears pooling in his eyes from the knowledge that even if he did, it wouldn't change anything.

Mai Valentine kept her back to them as she began to retreat out the door, her step retaining the same swagger it had exhibited when she'd first entered. "You two seem busy, but we have _so_ much to catch up on. We'll have to talk some other time. Maybe I'll see you around, since you're back in town." She stopped after she opened the door, to hurl one last barb over her shoulder.

"For now."

As their door slammed shut, Mokuba looked to his brother, and Seto turned away a second too late for him to miss the disgusted sneer across his lips.

Without a word, Seto retraced his steps, and resumed unloading cardboard boxes. Mokuba stood and watched him move about the room, still reeling from the confrontation, and feeling the chasm of emotional distance between he and his big brother grow just a tiny bit wider.

"Seto?"

The older Kaiba kept his back to Mokuba, as he fluidly lifted a box with one hand, and tossed another empty one into the growing pile of cardboard with the other. "Let it go, Mokuba," he advised, his voice more gruff than normal.

_Why does he do this to himself?_

"All right." Mokuba returned to the computer behind the desk, and continued his search for what had gone on in their hometown while they'd been away over the last year. "But I'm going to order one of those "_We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to Anyone_" plaques. That way, the next time she shows here face here, I can throw it at her head." Seto cleared his throat good-naturedly, but kept his focus on unpacking boxes.

The mid-afternoon sun filtered in through the windows, since Seto had yet to put up the blinds. Mokuba came across a recent article on how Adrien Rudolph Crump III, the Director of Finance and Personnel at KaibaCorp, was justifying a massive wave of sudden layoffs with _Global Warming_.

Mokuba could never understand Crump. The guy was obviously a closet case of Batman villain proportions. "How concerned for the environment can he really be if he's a major shareholder at a company that produces weapons of mass destruction?" Mokuba wondered to himself, not for the first time.

The KaibaCorp Board of Directors could be as vile as anyone he'd ever met, but never to he or Seto. In fact, they'd always gone out of their way to provide for the last remaining Kaibas, which Mokuba was grateful for, even if he wasn't sure why. Back before he and Seto left town, the five Directors on the Board were Seto's biggest (and probably lone) supporters. His big brother used to half-jokingly call them "the enemies of my enemy" back before father- ... before the bad times came. Now he only called them when he wanted some "trivial" problem to go away.

Without either brother noticing, Seto backed steadily closer to a patch of sunlight, carrying a box with a cappuccino maker inside under one arm, while balancing a box full of various writing utensils in the other.

_"Aaagghhh!" _Seto yelled, dropping both boxes and stumbling a few feet away.

Mokuba immediately jumped up from the behind the desk and ran over to him. "Seto! What's wrong?!"

Seto opened his mouth once wordlessly, straightened his posture, and looked awkwardly over at the boxes he'd just practically thrown. "Nothing."

Something was obviously wrong. "...Seto...?"

Seto looked at Mokuba once, looked away, inhaled deeply, and said in his most refined voice, "There was an _insect_."

Mokuba eyed the room. "An insect? Where?"

Seto grudgingly approached the discarded boxes. He cocked his head towards them, then touched the one with spilled ink pens scattered around it with his foot. "In here. I think it was one of those... those spider-cricket things." He pinned Mokuba with a glare, daring him to laugh. "I was... _startled_," he deliberately ground out.

Mokuba nodded archly.

"You like easy-bake ovens," Seto said pointedly, and slouched off to find another, likely cricket-free, box to unpack.

"No I don't! I told you, that was- I _found_ it... I..." Realizing that he'd been discovered long ago, Mokuba gave up, and shouted at his brother's broad retreating back. "At least _I_ can cook!"

* * *

Six hours, and many box-stomping sessions later, courtesy of Mokuba, their office was finished. And they were famished.

"Seto, I'm kinda hungry," Mokuba admitted, draping himself across a sofa in the lobby, his shoes sitting beside him on the floor.

Seto observed his little brother guiltily from behind the front desk. He'd forgotten to eat again. Why hadn't Mokuba said something hours ago?

"We can order something if you prefer. We have the mini-fridge, but it's still empty."

Mokuba looked up at him mischievously. "Maybe there's something in the arcade. It still has that fridge and stove in it."

Seto frowned at him. "There is no arcade, and there isn't going to be one. And I doubt it. Let me go find a phonebook."

"We'll see..." Mokuba grumbled, then jumped up from the sofa to put on his shoes. "Don't bother. There's a Chinese food place right next door. I'll just go get some take-out."

Seto stopped his rummaging through a desk he could have sworn he put the phonebooks in a few hours ago. "Hold on. It's dark out. I'll get it."

Just by looking at him, Mokuba could tell his brother was unenthusiastic at best about leaving the privacy of their new office. He was rumpled, and dirty and looked so, so tired.

"No way that I'm gonna let _you_ pick out dinner. You'll come back with a bag of steamed vegetables and some tofu."

"It's _healthy_," Seto firmly asserted.

"It's _please-just-kill-me-I'd-rather-die-than-eat-that_ food," Mokuba asserted, just as firmly. "Besides, this is a safe...ish neighborhood."

"Safe-_ish _is right." Seto leaned against the doorway to the main office, with his arms crossed over his chest. "There's a homeless shelter just down the street, Mokuba. And a liqueur store right beside that. The only way this area could be any _less_ safe would be with hypodermic needles lining the sidewalks."

Ignoring him, Mokuba headed for the exit. "Oh relax, big bro. I'll be right back. It's just next door."

Seto sighed resignedly. "Fine. But be careful. And use your debit, not the KC cards!" He yelled out to him as Mokuba left. The last thing he wanted was the Board tracking his movements the moment he got back.

"Safe. Right." Seto shook his head, and went back into the office. _"Watch out for hookers, Mokuba!"_ He joked darkly to himself. Then stopped. _Perhaps I should have said that_, he thought worriedly.

Something touched his forearm, which was resting on the desk. He looked down.

_"Aaagghhh!"_ Seto flailed around the office, throwing his arms through the air for a few seconds, before his natural dignity kicked in.

He growled low in his throat, surveying the office angrily. "That _damn_ cricket..."

* * *

"_"White Dragon Chinese Cuisine"_, huh?" Mokuba approached the glowing front door to the restaurant. The building was about six yards away from he and Seto's office, across a wide looming alley, and the place was lit up with warm blue light from inside. Admittedly, he was a little anxious about walking down the street in the dark, and when he reached the entrance to the alleyway, he picked up his pace. After taking one quick peek into the gaping alley, and hearing a rustling, but seeing nothing but pitch-blackness, he gave up walking altogether, and _ran_ into White Dragon.

A tinkling bell over the door heralded him in, and he was enveloped with the blue glow of paper lanterns, and mood setting neon lights, as gentle eastern music greeted his ears. The restaurant was almost empty, except for a few sleepy patrons who must not have had anywhere better to be.

Mokuba spotted the front counter with a blonde boy about his brother's age manning the register. As Mokuba approached him, a beautiful Chinese woman stormed out of the swinging kitchen doors, fuming. She made a beeline for the guy behind the counter, pointing a finger at him accusingly.

"Joseph! Mr. Ling told me you were an hour late for a delivery last night! The food was cold and _wet_, and we were forced to give the customer a refund! And _then_, you took off work without signing out. Explain yourself!" She demanded, furious.

The blonde guy raised his arms apologetically. "I'm sorry, Vivian-" the woman raised a well-plucked eyebrow and he immediately corrected himself, "- Ms. Wong, but I got caught out in the rain and..." he stopped abruptly, looking guilty.

"And what?" His boss asked, tapping a high-heeled foot against the floor. She had no accent, and seemed fluent in English, and with her self-important attitude, Mokuba assumed her to be the owner of the White Dragon.

Mokuba stood in front of the counter awkwardly trying to look busy by reading the various signs on the wall. Unfortunately, he soon discovered that pretending to know how to read Chinese was hard (and a little embarrassing, since he was sure that at least a few of the people in there actually _knew_ Chinese), so he was forced to uncomfortably wait until the employee's reaming by his boss was over.

"And I, uh... well I'm gonna be honest with ya," Joseph confided. "I caught a cold. A bad one. And then I think I almost crashed my truck. And by da time I got to that last delivery I was feelin' like crap. So I took off. Ain't it better ta be gone, than ta be horkin' up in customers' egg rolls?"

Vivian sharply looked over at Mokuba, smiled thinly at him, and then got right up in Joey's face.

"You cannot say things like that in front of customers," she whispered harshly, "Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay?!"

"Okay! Sorry." When Mokuba looked at him closer, he could see that there might be some truth to the boy's story. He looked a sickly yellow in the face, and there were dark circles under his eyes. "I just had a bad night, is all."

The boss scrutinized him skeptically, then made a disgusted noise, and withdrew from him. "Well, you smell terrible. What did you do, roll around with a litter of swine, and then bathe in their feces?"

Joseph threw his arms in the air. "I dunno! I fell down on a customer's lawn, and now I smell like horse ass. I can't get da stink off."

Ms. Wong cocked her head towards Mokuba again, and this time deigned to speak to him. "I'm sorry for your wait, sir, we will be one more minute." She dragged Joey few feet away, but Mokuba could still hear them. He began to get frustrated.

"Great service, yes?" Joked a voice from one of the booths behind Mokuba. He turned to see a tiny bald Chinese man with very deep laugh lines (and every other line, from age) smiling at him through perfectly white teeth. Across from him sat a bearded old man with crazy hair. "I come here every night, and every night blonde idiot screw up. He screw up, screw up, try to fix but screw up worse, and never get fired. I say to Vivian, "You _fire_ blonde boy! He _fortune_ in insurance! Better off with _dog_!" but no, she keep him."

Mokuba raised his eyebrows, amused at the stranger's warm familiarity.

The speaker's dining companion, who seemed to be American, fondly disagreed. "Don't be so harsh on him, Lau. I see nothing wrong with the young man taking advantage of his youth while he still has it. Why, when I was his age I used to-"

Lau interrupted him. "Force every father in city to lock away daughters. I listen to your stories, Solomon. You were _bad boy_," he scolded, wagging a finger at his friend. "Nothing like your grandson."

The gray-haired old man burst into laughter. "No, certainly not. He's so skittish at times, I was beginning to wonder if he was _afraid_ of girls," joked the old man. "For the longest time, I thought he just plain too shy to make any friends."

Mokuba checked to see if Ms. Wong and Joseph were finished, but they were still immersed in conversation, and the boy was holding his hands in front of him like he was holding a steering wheel, twisting it around erratically.

"Oh ho ho... got himself girlfriend now, has he?" Lau was clearly delighted with this surprising bit of news.

Solomon leaned in towards both Lau and Mokuba and glanced to his left and right comically. "_He thinks I don't know_," he responded in a hushed tone, excitement sparkling in his eyes. Obviously, he had no problem with living vicariously through his grandson.

Mokuba stifled his laughter. The two loony old men were acting like a couple of pre-teen girls, gossiping over boys.

Lau nodded. "Good for him! He such good boy. Is she good girl?"

Solomon waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Good enough to sneak into his room in the middle of the night." He sat back in his chair proudly. "I first caught a glimpse of her climbing up the trellis to get in his window - _gorgeous_ little thing. From what I could see, she looked pretty stacked, too."

Mokuba turned pink, and did his best to halt his jaw dropping. He thought old people were supposed to be all respectful and stuff. This geezer with the bed-head was a dirty old man!

"Not so scared of girls! Just picky!" Lau laughed raucously, and Solomon joined in. "What he lack in height, he make up in good taste!" A few of the sleeping patrons stirred at the racket.

"Excuse me, could you please quiet down? I have _other_ customers in this establishment." Ms. Wong was glaring over at Mokuba. The old men instantly concentrated on their plates, and Joseph rubbed the back of his neck anxiously as Vivian stared Mokuba down.

No one came to Mokuba's rescue. "Uh... Sorry?"

"_Thank you_," she said snottily, and turned back to her delivery boy.

Mokuba sputtered in rage, disbelieving the nerve of the woman. He hadn't even been laughing!

"Whoops," murmured Solomon, "She sure does know how to make a man wilt at just the sound of her voice, doesn't she?"

Mokuba's head shot around to him. "What does that _mean?_"

"It mean she like bossing around young men," Lau whispered conspiringly to Mokuba, grinning.

"You be careful, ey?" Solomon suggested, smiling even wider.

Mokuba couldn't help but chuckle at their antics. "Yes sir, I will."

Lau nodded satisfactorily. "Good, good. You good boy." He addressed Solomon. "He good boy. Remind me of your grandson."

Solomon laughed at that, and winked at Mokuba. "Are you a picky young man, too, my boy?" He asked teasingly.

Mokuba shook his head, embarrassed. "I don't even pick yet. I'm eleven."

Both men cracked up at his response. After a moment Solomon waved him away between breathless chuckles, sensing Mokuba's discomfort. Mokuba gratefully escaped the old men, and leaned over on the front counter, hiding his face.

""I'm really sorry Ms. Wong. It won't happen again, I tell ya." Mokuba was annoyed to find that the boss and the delivery boy were _still_ at it when he spied them in front of the kitchen door.

She seemed to consider for a moment. "Well... I suppose I can forgive my _best_ English-speaking delivery boy-"

Joseph smiled dopily in relief. " Aw, thanks Viv- _Ms. Wong_, I-"

"-Or I could just _fire_ my _worst_ English-speaking delivery boy," she amended, glaring at him.

"Wha..?"

Vivian huffily crossed her arms over her chest. "The point, Joseph, is that you are my _only_ English-speaking delivery boy, and if I cannot count on _you_ I will be forced to depend on _someone else_. Do you understand?"

Joseph sighed, defeated. "Yes, Ma'am. I get ya."

Vivian raised her head condescendingly. "Wonderful." She pointed over at Mokuba. "Now get over there and do your job. That customer has been waiting for five minutes, and I don't see you doing anything but wasting time apologizing for wasting time."

Joseph grit his teeth, and stopped himself from saying something that would lose him his job. And maybe gain him a misdemeanor. "You're the boss."

Vivian turned on her heel and sauntered back into the kitchen. "And take a shower once in a while, huh? You're going to start attracting flies," she ordered over her shoulder.

Mokuba noticed his face turned a bit red at that, and finally he came back up to the counter.

"Welcome to White Dragon Chinese Cuisine. How can I help ya?"

Mokuba was at a loss. "I just need to buy some food."

"Hmm... Well, if ya don't know what ya want, ya can try one 'a our house specials. Dey got variety, and come with white rice." Joseph handed Mokuba a paper menu, with a drawing of a majestic white dragon with its wings spread on the front.

Mokuba flipped through it until he found 'House Specialties.' He looked down the list for something that didn't sound so unhealthy that his brother wouldn't eat it.

"What's a '_Happy Family_?'" Mokuba asked, singling out special number 3. The blonde boy smiled slightly at the question, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Ya ever see _The Cosby Show_?"

Mokuba looked up from the menu, puzzled. "What?" Joseph laughed. Mokuba shook his head, realizing he was joking. "Oh, I mean the special. What's in it? I know what a "happy family" is..."

Joseph opened his mouth to answer, still grinning, but Mokuba's next statement sucked the light right out of his face.

"... I _guess_..."

Joseph cleared his throat, frowning a bit. "It's got jumbo shrimp, chicken, beef, and sliced pork with vegetables in our special sauce." He smiled guiltily at Mokuba, feeling bad for teasing the little kid.

Mokuba ignored the smile, all business. "Is there enough for two in it?"

"You betcha. Maybe three," answered Joseph.

Mokuba thought it over. "Well, he does like_ meat_. And it has vegetables in it..." He looked up at Joseph and nodded in affirmation. "I'll take one order of that, please, to go."

Joseph gave a thumbs up. "Yes sir! Comin' right up!"

Mokuba stopped him before he could take the order to the tiny kitchen window. "Wait, and can I also get an order of crab rangoon, an order of chicken fried rice, and some egg-" He remembered part of the discussion between Joseph and his boss. "... Just the crab rangoon and the rice, thanks..."

A few minutes later, Mokuba paid for the brown sack with he and Seto's dinner in it, and wished Joseph and the two old perverts, who were snorting with laughter into their soup, goodnight. When he left the White Dragon, listening to the tinkling bell upon his exit, he realized that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. The darkness of the street seemed much less scary now that he knew what kind of people were in the light surrounding it. Seto was just paranoid, like always, but maybe for once he would see that the world wasn't really as hopeless as he believed. Domino was home to the worst memories he and Seto had, but maybe this time things could be-

"Hey, kiddo."

Mokuba snapped out of his thoughts, and looked up to see a teenage girl about his brother's age standing in between the sidewalk and the street a yard and a half or so ahead of him. Mokuba stopped in his tracks, noticing the worn state of the girl's clothes, and the way her big blue eyes kept flickering around the area nervously.

"Huh?" He asked, tensing himself in case he had to make a run for it.

"Come here a minute," she said, waving him over.

Mokuba had never been in a situation like this before, but he'd watched enough cable TV to know that this girl was bad news. "I don't think so. I have to get back..." He took a step down the sidewalk, intending to just bypass her, but she freaked out and stepped onto the sidewalk ahead of him. He slowly backed away from her, moving off the sidewalk and onto the asphalt, considering running back into White Dragon.

"Wait! Just- just don't go that way. Just come around through the gutter." She pointed out near the street, indicating he go in a long arc around the sidewalk instead.

"Sorry, but I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," he said, falling back on the oldest, yet most reliable excuse in the book.

She visibly forced herself to calm down, shaking out her arms. "Look kid, I'm not gonna hurt you," she held up both hands in a display of peace, "I just need you to _**get away **__from that alley_."

Suddenly, Mokuba noticed that he was standing around the mid-point of the alley, his back to the impenetrable dark within it. He'd been so scared of it the first time he passed, but the atmosphere of White Dragon had erased any feelings of trepidation that he came in with. Now, realizing just where he was, between a rock and a hard place, he began to wish Seto had gone to get dinner after all. He wasn't afraid of the dark, and he sure as heck wouldn't be afraid of a hundred-pound teenage girl who looked like a China doll come to life.

"If that's true, then please, just let me get where I need to go, and leave me alone," pleaded Mokuba, inching sideways along the edge of the ally.

"That's what I'm _trying_ to do here. Just come away from there." Mokuba nearly jumped out of his skin when the girl jolted towards him with an arm outstretched, reaching for him. She came at him so abruptly that almost seemed impulsive.

He backed into the alley without even thinking, and that's when he knew he was in over his head. In an instant, she was there, right in front of him. She swiftly grabbed his wrist, causing him to drop the bag, struggling to get out of her grip.

"No! Help me! Somebody! Seto!" Mokuba screamed into the street, as she dragged him out of the alley, looking just as frightened as he felt.

"Hey, kiddo, chill out! It's okay, I just wanna get you home, really!" She insisted, pulling him firmly but gently back into the light.

"Hello there sweethearts."

Mokuba stopped fighting her when he heard the new voice, a grating rumble that sent tingles down his spine.

There, in the opening of the alley, right where Mokuba had been standing not two seconds ago, stood a man, half of his face obscured in shadow. The girl let go of him, and instead took a step in front of the boy, shielding Mokuba from this new stranger. "Get away from us," she growled at the man, holding Mokuba behind her.

The man's eyes were eerily wide-open, and his face was decorated with tribal-like black tattoos. He had a strange twist in his mouth, something mocking a smile, and it was hard to tell if he was trying to smirk, or had some weird facial tick. He was staring unblinkingly at the two of them so intensely, it made Mokuba want to curl up into a little ball.

The man slowly tilted his head to the side, and observed them like an animal would some strange object. "I just want to play a game with you both. I love young people."

"I'll bet," spat the girl, disgusted. The man stepped completely out of the alleyway, and Mokuba could take in his full appearance. He was tall, at least as tall as his brother, and probably weighed well over two hundred pounds, with wild long black hair and hollow eyes that made him look unstable. He was dressed hardly any better than the girl, but wore a long black trench coat that was soiled with things Mokuba would rather not identify. Mokuba assumed them both to be homeless, even though the girl was much cleaner than the sinister man from the alley.

"Do you like to loop-de-loop? Pop goes the weasel, bouncy-bouncy? You wanna play cars and garages, 'cause you ain't got neither, stray-kitty." He mumbled, advancing on them carefully, like a predator. The girl held her ground.

"He's crazy," muttered Mokuba in horror, too scared to run at this point.

"That and _worse_. Just don't panic; he loves that," the girl whispered to Mokuba, not taking her eyes off the man across the sidewalk. "You leave him alone, or I start making house calls," she threatened.

This stopped him. He widened his eyes even further, which creeped Mokuba out to no extent. "If you weren't so rough with me I'd shove in your blind eye," he stated lecherously, sounding angry.

"Well, if you would stop _eyeing_ kids, I wouldn't be so rough with you," the girl retorted, her voice almost shaking.

Now Mokuba was sure that his little smirk was some kind of disfigurement, because he smiled widely, and it changed his face completely. He was _so_ much creepier when he smiled. His canines were more pronounced that most, lending him a fiendish grin.

"I'll see you around, new-new-kid-on-the-block," he promised, leering at Mokuba. "You two make good friends, so when we play together it won't be so awkward," he ominously suggested.

The girl suddenly lunged at him, and he tripped backwards, falling on his ass against the outside of the alley wall. "You get the freak outta here; I see you near him again - _I'll_ start hiding out in dark alleys, waiting for _you_ to walk by." Her voice didn't shake at all this time, and the creepy guy started trembling in fear.

Mokuba was stunned. It could have been hilarious: this hulking grown man, frightened by a petite girl who probably wouldn't have been out of place on a cheerleading squad somewhere. But when she turned back around, Mokuba saw a gleam in her eye that made his breath catch in his throat. There was just something... _foreign_ about her. Some intent in her slightly dilated eyes that he knew could never be reflected in his own. But she blinked, and it was gone, replaced by a clear light blue that sparkled with warmth.

"Are you okay?" She asked, tossing back her auburn hair to get a better view of him.

_She's actually kind of pretty_, Mokuba noticed for the first time. "Uh, yeah."

She watched him, concerned, and stepped hesitantly towards him. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to. I just didn't want Captain Nutjob over here," she cocked her head to the guy on the ground, who was crazily lulling his head around, muttering to himself, "to get a hold of you. You really shouldn't be out here at night. It can be dangerous."

Mokuba couldn't help but smirk at that. "Yeah, but it can't be that dangerous. I mean, _that_ guy's scared of _you_."

She raised her eyebrows at his tone, maybe offended, maybe charmed. "Everybody around here is scared of something," she stated enigmatically. She turned around and crouched down in front of the guy from the alley, eye-level. "I think you should run away now," she enunciated slowly, as if talking to a toddler. He stood, loomed over her for a moment, swaying, then darted down the street, not bothering to glance back.

"Wow," was all Mokuba could say, amazed at how intimidated the guy was by his "savior."

"Try not to go anywhere alone at night, okay? The layout of the block pretty much goes buildings, certain death, buildings, certain death, fire hydrant, more buildings, certain _painful_ death, and liqueur store," she joked, pointing vaguely down the street as she spoke.

"Yeah, city maps somehow always manage to leave off "Death Alley" in the key," Mokuba chimed in. She gathered his brown bag of Chinese food into her arms, and spun back around, flashing him a blinding smile.

_Yikes. She is __**really**__ pretty._

"Here ya go," chirped the girl, handing him back his bag of dinner that he'd dropped during their brief struggle. "It's probably cold by now. You might be able to get a refund if you head back to the White Dragon. They're good about that kind of stuff."

Remembering the terrible ordeal of Joseph the delivery boy, Mokuba shook his head no. "Nah, it's no big deal. My brother and I have had worse, trust me."_ Oh no, Seto's probably driven himself insane with worry by now. I'm going to get back to the office and find out he's bought out a dozen dairy farms so he can paste my face on 500,000 milk cartons. And that's just by tomorrow morning. He'll go Global next week._

"Your brother? You guys just moved into the neighborhood, right? I've never seen you before."

Mokuba was in a dilemma. Here was this really nice girl, (_who didn't seem to notice or -care- how pretty she was - not at all like those girls who used to flock around Seto_) who'd just saved him from a fate worse than tofu, and he was afraid to talk about his brother for fear that she would reel back in revulsion. It had happened before. He once overheard someone describe what Seto looked like to a blind woman, and it was "Like Satan, only more evil. And less trustworthy. And his head's kind of shaped like a dick if you're far away and cross your eyes."

Crump fired the guy on the spot. The blind woman excused herself to use the ladies room, and never came back.

Yeah, that sucked.

"Uh, we're new to the area. But we don't live here, we just run our business right next door." He proudly pointed to the Blue-Eyes Investigations Office, and began to walk back, encouraging her to follow.

"Oh, that's cool," she exclaimed, taking the hint and falling into step beside him. "What kind of business is it?"

"A detective agency," Mokuba answered blithely. He peered at her to see what her reaction was, but was startled to see no one accompanying him. He twisted around and spotted her standing still on the sidewalk, a few feet behind him.

"You're detectives?" She questioned apprehensively. If Mokuba didn't know any better he could swear she was about to take off like a scared rabbit. She was glancing around nervously again, the way she had when he'd first caught sight of her.

"Well, my brother is." An idea sprung into his mind. Whatever was bothering her about his brother's profession probably had to do with something she was involved in. Like Seto said, this was a bad area, and as kind as the girl had been to him, he wouldn't be surprised if she was associated with something shady. It couldn't be helped in this part of town. Perhaps if she knew who his brother was, she wouldn't worry so much about being judged. "Seto Kaiba. He's a private detective now."

Not even a blip of recognition registered on her face. "Oh." She still hung back, fidgeting around.

"Do you - Have you never heard of _Seto Kaiba_?" Mokuba couldn't believe it. Was this girl for real? Could he really be so lucky to run into the one person in Domino that didn't spit every time someone uttered his brother's name?

Now she seemed more embarrassed than nervous. "Sorry. I haven't watched much TV lately. Is he a celebrity?"

She was being totally _sincere_. Un-be-lieve-able. Mokuba grinned, his heart feeling lighter than it had in a long time. "You could say that."

She shook her head regretfully, and caught up to him. "Kaiba... Hm-mm. Doesn't ring a bell. Who is he?"

All the things Mokuba could say...

"He's just my big brother. Don't worry about it," Mokuba supplied simply, elated by this revelation. They were almost to his building. "Anyway, I'm Mokuba. Thanks for saving me, ... um..."

"You're welcome," she replied, completely dodging his subtle inquiry for her name. "Also, um, if a guy with '777' tattooed across his forehead ever comes up to you and asks _'Hey kid, wanna see somethin' really __**swell?**_don't reply, just get the heck outta dodge, okay?"

Mokuba almost laughed at the way she said it, but when he saw the serious expression on her face, he coughed instead. They reached the front double doors, and Mokuba pulled out his key with his free hand.

His companion noticed this. "Good. Yeah, keep your doors locked. I'm sure people have already been scoping out your building, checking if they see anything steal-worthy. And, uh, be careful, okay, Mokuba?" She sounded a little sad.

Mokuba balanced the bag on his knee against the door, concentrating on getting it unlocked. "Sure. _Hey _- you know, you can come in and have dinner with us, meet my brother. We don't really know anyone around here yet, and-"

The door flew inward, his keys still lodged in the doorknob, to reveal Seto standing in the doorway trying to hide his relief under a frown of disapproval. Without the support of the door, their dinner went tumbling to the ground for the second time that night.

"Mokuba! Where have you been? What happened?" Seto ignored the bag on the floor, and instead tried to pull his younger brother into the office, out of the dark.

"Hey, wait." Mokuba escaped his brother's clutches, and motioned towards him. "This is my brother, Seto, I was telling you about. Seto, she totally saved my life! It was awesome. She scared the crap out of this huge guy-"

"Who? What are you talking about? Are you talking to me?" Seto's confused face almost made Mokuba crack up.

"No! I'm talking to her-" He whirled around and pointed at a broken window in the building across the street.

"Who?" Asked Seto, his tone changing from confused to worried.

"What?" Mokuba hurried back outside, and did a 360, searching for the girl. The streets were empty. "But - she was just - where did she go?!" He couldn't decide if he was disappointed or excited by her unexpected exit.

The elder Kaiba bent down to retrieve the, by now, tattered and torn paper bag. "Mokuba, why don't you come on inside. There's no one out there."

Mokuba scanned the block one last time, but still saw no sign of the pretty brunette girl whom he thought he'd befriended. "... Okay..."

"All right." Seto went into the office, to examine what his brother had brought home for them to eat. Mokuba heard him muttering in the background. "My God, look at this bag! And this food is _cold_! And half of it is smashed beyond recognition! It's not even edible! I should call them and _inform_ as to how a business is _properly_ run..."

Mokuba stood crestfallen in the doorway, observing the street outside for the mystery girl. "Man... this sucks. What if I never see her again?" He mused to no one. A rustling from above caught his attention, and he watched as a piece of paper fluttered down to the ground in front of him. It was a menu from the White Dragon.

"Mokuba?" Seto's voice called from inside.

"Just a minute," he called back, and scooped the menu off the sidewalk. The front page still had the same majestic white dragon as the one in the restaurant, but this one had a message scrawled on it in blue ink.

_Try to avoid "Death Alleys" in the future, huh? Only 1 in 3 people get rescued by me, so if it's not the person to the left or to right of you, then I'm running really late, and you should probably invest in some good mace. Take care, Mokuba._

There was a round cheerful smiley face drawn under the message, right on the belly of the dragon.

"Wow." Mokuba searched the sky for evidence of her, but saw nothing except stars and the nearly full moon. "Now that is just _cool_."

* * *

**"Someone is looking out for you."** - Fortune cookie

* * *

Author's Notes: Yep. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" is present, just not in the way you would think. Also, I threw in some other familiar faces, but I really only put them in to take advantage of the huge Yu-Gi-Oh cast of characters. Why do I need OCs when there's already so many people to play with? Well, all right, Lau is an OC, but he's just an "extra."

No doubt everyone knows _who_ the mystery girl is, but hopefully I've left it vague enough for there to still be questions about the _why_. Also, the "spider-cricket" will be a recurring character, simply because his appearances will be based on my own experiences with him, and he is terrifying. Anyway, thanks for reading, and click that little purple button to let me know what you think! Let a review be your good deed for the day, so that you can go debauch yourself afterward!


	4. Girl Troubles

Disclaimer: AT&T now owns Cingular. That means no more phone commercials with that little orange "splat-looking" dude with the floaty head dancing around. That's terrible That would be like me buying out Yu-Gi-Oh, and then drowning Kuriboh because he's a symbol of the "old regime." Be glad that AT&T doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I, on the other hand, would only _beat_ Kuriboh if _I_ did.

* * *

**Girl Troubles**

* * *

"I'm just sayin' Seto, I think you'd like her if you met her," called Mokuba, leaning back in the desk chair, scanning the computer screen behind the front counter.

"Yes, Mokuba, and you were saying that _all night long_," grouched Seto, from his office down the hall, studying some of the latest reports from the Order.

The two brothers were so wiped out from assembling the office the day before, they decided to stay the night at their new workspace instead of calling a cab to take them to the penthouse. Seto's cars were still in storage, and he planned to leave them there, since the highest echelons of KaibaCorp would no doubt be alerted if any of Seto Kaiba's assets were accessed. Purchasing new vehicles he could handle - it was attempting to explain where he'd been for the last six months to the Board that he couldn't be bothered with.

He knew that getting away from KaibaCorp was the right thing to do, for himself and Mokuba. Living in the penthouse was the lone compromise that he was willing to make, and that was only so that he could monitor the management of his father's company. The Board loved their dangerous, smoke-filled games of cloak and dagger, but they wouldn't know how to handle an opponent who left them wondering if they were even fighting on their own turf. Besides, he had bigger problems to worry about.

Like Mokuba - _ugh_, not Mokuba. Mokuba's "friend." The friend that he'd practically been reciting epic poetry about all night.

"Some people you just _know_," "She carried herself with the grace of a dancer," "I've never met anyone with such a mysterious air," "Her eyes were like the sky after rainfall," "That smile of hers alone moved me," "I'd hope for danger just to see her face again," _"Near, far, wherever you are, my heart will go on and on-"_

**Whatever.**

Seto knew that Mokuba's adrenaline rush combined with the disorienting effect of sleeping in an unfamiliar area could be partly to blame for his strange fixation on his "rescuer." But if he became preoccupied to the point of making a habit of staying up half the night thinking about her, then something would have to be done.

The girl was trouble. It didn't matter how "heroic" she came off in Mokuba's eyes. Mokuba was young, naive, and entirely too trusting. Which made it Seto's duty as his older brother to screen potential undesirables that came flouncing into his younger brother's life. The girl not only knew Mokuba on a first name basis (something that Seto found offensive since she wouldn't reciprocate), but she also now knew he was a _Kaiba_.

Seto didn't believe for a second that she didn't know the name. The only way anyone could have missed that fiasco was if they were living in a cave (which, admittedly, was possible since Seto himself had done so during the "exodus" for a few days in the Goa Lawah in Bali during an investigation, while Mokuba stayed at the Besakin Temple - but that was another matter entirely.) The only reason she had to lie about not recognizing the Kaiba name was if she had an agenda.

Seto didn't like people with _agendas_. They tended to arrive in package deals with great big knifes poised to stab you in the back.

"Hey Seto!" Mokuba called from the main office. Seto abandoned his own pursuits and walked down the hall to where his brother was crouched over the computer behind the front desk. He looked fidgety, and when Mokuba turned around to see if he was coming, Seto caught a whiff of discomfort in his body language.

"What's wrong?" He asked after entering the office, leaning over his little brother's shoulder to peer at the monitor.

"Lookit this."

Mokuba was still so small, and sometimes Seto would catch himself fancying that he too was as small as he used to be, only a head or two taller than Mokuba. When he considered how that meant Mokuba would someday be able to regard him nose-to-nose whenever he wished, instead of at Seto's own discretion, it made him ache to imagine how much harder it would be then to hide the haunted look in his eyes. The only thing worse than being unjustly hero-worshipped by Mokuba as a child would the justifiable pity from Mokuba as a man.

"Stay small," he murmured privately.

"Huh?" Mokuba asked, looking up at him from the monitor.

"Dismal. Why are you still reading _The Chronicle_?" Seto was scowling at the screen, and half-heartedly speed-reading the text of the story that Mokuba believed was of interest.

_God_, how Seto loathed _The Chronicle_. Valentine ran the amateur Internet rag like she was managing the _New York Times_. Domino City might have seemed like a strange place to base a business powered by gossip, but it was close enough to LA for Valentine to stay in the Hollywood loop, and far enough away for her to pretend that she _was_ somebody and get away with it. Some poor little rich girl who never got enough attention from mommy and daddy decides she wants to be a reporter, and suddenly she's exposing scandals of the rich and famous like she wasn't babysat by the perpetrators as a child. Seto was sure that in some circles, her name merited more cursing than his own, if only because Valentine's vendetta against the upper-crust was more personal than his own. People condemned Seto Kaiba as a murderer in the same breath they joked about what a bastard Gozaburo Kaiba was. Nobody of prestige with any dark secrets they wanted to keep a lid on dared joke about Mai Valentine. She might be listening.

"A wild dog attack? _That's_ her front page?" Seto left the computer, and took a seat on an armchair tucked between two file cabinets. "Did the world run out of snitches for her to seduce while we were sleeping?"

Mokuba spun around on his chair, and handed Seto a printout with _The Chronicle_'s heading on it. "Take a look at this then. It says the teeth marks were too large to be anything other than a wolf's, and they found animal hair at the scene that didn't match the dog's."

Seto looked over the document, and quirked an eyebrow when he came across something interesting. "A _dog_ was attacked by a _wolf_."

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah," he said gravely. "With the force of a _moving vehicle_."

There was a beat of silence, as Seto considered asking Mokuba whether he'd been chugging cough syrup while his back was turned. It would certainly explain why he'd yammered on about the girl who'd "saved" him from some pushy beggar the night before.

He decided instead to proceed with all the gentleness he could muster. "Did you consider that perhaps it _was_ a moving vehicle?"

"There's more to this than just the recipe for road kill," Mokuba insisted, a bit too melodramatically for Seto's taste. Eww.

"And what makes you think that it would be relevant to _us_, Mokuba?"

"Because. The wolf? Was wearing _shoes_."

A buzzing filled the air. Someone had just entered the lobby doors. After Mai Valentine's unsolicited visit the day before, Seto decided to activate the intercom system, specifically for the warning that came through the speakers when the front doors were stormed. He'd hooked up the security system as well, but Mokuba claimed that it wasn't supposed to be on during the day, when they were there. Mokuba still had a lot to learn.

"Hello? Excuse me? Is there anyone here?"

Seto frowned, and Mokuba's eyes widened in surprise.

"In here!" Mokuba called, before Seto could stop him.

An old man with gray hair, a mustache, and a frailty about him popped his head in front of the window of the front desk. "Oh, hello there." Mokuba jumped in his seat. Seto waved his hand in an irritated fashion, his message clear: get rid of him.

Mokuba slid his chair in front of the service window to speak with the stranger. Seto stayed sitting in the back of the office, out of view of the potential client.

"Uh, hi. Sorry, but we're not open yet."

The old man wasn't deterred. "I know. But please understand, if I weren't so desperate for disclosure, I wouldn't be so pushy."

Mokuba glanced back at his brother, but he was stretched out in the chair, silently staring blankly at the wall, his eyes narrowed. Mokuba knew this meant he was mad.

"Yeah, but-"

"I told you they wouldn't be any help, Grandpa. The Kaibas only care about themselves. Don't you read _The Chronicle_?"

Mokuba stood from his chair, and peered over the front desk to see a girl about his age with glasses and blond pigtails, clutching a teddy bear. She glared back at him defiantly.

"Rebecca, please. They're the only ones we can ask," The old man pleaded, patting the blond girl on her head. "My name is Arthur Hawkins, and this is my granddaughter, Rebecca."

Seto sighed deeply from behind him, and Mokuba forced himself to get tough with the old man.

"I'm sorry Mr. Hawkins, but we here at Blue-Eyes Investigations can't help you at this time. If you come back Monday, we open at 11.00 am." Mokuba was proud of himself for his professionalism. He could definitely get used to being seen as an authority figure, instead of as a prime-candidate for ransom.

"Don't listen to him, Grandpa, he's not even the boss," The pigtailed girl said to her grandfather. She pinned Mokuba with a haughty stare. "_Where_ is _Seto Kaiba_?"

"_What_ is that _smell_?" Seto asked from behind the two visitors, in a more deadpan imitation of the girl.

The old man gasped shakily, and twisted around, clutching his chest. The girl nonchalantly turned around, and eyed the tall teenager with something like boredom.

"I knew you were there, I just didn't wanna be rude," she claimed. "Something that, obviously, you don't lose any sleep over."

"You have to leave now," Seto informed them, not even playing at civility.

The old man pulled something from his blazer pocket. "Please. Just read this. I don't expect you to take me seriously, but we have reason to believe that lives may be in great danger." He held up a sheet of paper in Seto's face.

It was the _Chronicle_ article Mokuba had just shown him.

The elder Kaiba smoothly took it from the old man, and flipped the paper around for his brother to read. "_I knew it_!" Mokuba declared excitedly. "I _knew_ it was a-"

"It was a werewolf." The little girl interrupted, her voice dripping with disinterest.

A loud scoffing was heard from behind the front desk. "And what makes you so sure about _that_?" Mokuba challenged, and it was clear to Seto that he was now standing on his chair, giving it his best to look intimidating.

"_Rebecca_-"

"-_Mokuba_," both Seto and Arthur Hawkins scolded at the same time.

The two children glowered at each other. The little girl held up her bear to the side of her face, and whispered in its ear, watching Mokuba closely, and making sure that he _knew_ that she was watching him as she did it.

Mokuba raised a wary eyebrow.

The girl stopped whispering, and then she made the bear turn its head to look at Mokuba, its beady little eyes shining evilly, and it nodded. Then it moved its muzzle to the girl's ear, and she began nodding, her eyes locked on Mokuba maliciously.

"Oh, I _know_, Teddy. _I _think he is too."

"_What did that bear say to you?!" _Mokuba erupted, coming unhinged, and trying to launch himself across the counter to grab the stuffed animal. She yanked him away just in time.

"Mokuba!" Shouted Seto, meaning business.

The old man laughed. "You'll have to forgive Rebecca, eh, _Mokuba_? She's so advanced academically that she sometimes forgets how to relate to her age group."

"Yeah. You'll have to forgive me; I'm way smarter than you are," Rebecca said smugly, smirking at Mokuba over the counter.

"Oh yeah!? So am I! Than _you_! I'm smart too!" Mokuba retorted angrily, feeling flustered. Seto smacked a palm to his forehead behind the strangers.

"I meant smart like, "I go to college and you don't," not smart like, "They let me wear a helmet that says '**I'm smart**'if I pick up all of my toys.""

"Why don't you shut-up before I stuff Teddy down the garbage disposal!" Mokuba twitched his index finger up and down, like he was flipping a switch. "Flick-a flick-a! _Rrrrrrcrunchcrunch_!"

Rebecca gasped, clutched her bear to her, and turned around to bury her face in the back of her grandfather's blazer. "Grandpa!"

"Mokuba," Seto scolded again, this time noticeably less harsh.

His baby brother blinked back at him innocently. "What? I was just gonna tell her that I don't even _need_ to go to school. I'm tutored online by the smartest minds in the world." Seto didn't miss the triumphant sneer his brother aimed at the back of Rebecca's head. He had patented it, after all. Mokuba cupped a hand to his ear. "And what's that? Oh, that's Abraham Lincoln's ghost telling me that _you_ _suck_, Teddy!"

Fed up with the childish antics, Seto snapped at Mr. Hawkins. "Why are you here? We don't even advertise."

Hawkins looked away, embarrassed. "Well, Rebecca and I read the article on you in _The Chronicle_, and we just thought that, hm... This is a very sensitive subject for both of us, and we thought that you might be more -"

"You're good at keeping deep dark secrets," Rebecca interjected, her voice muffled due to her clinging onto the back of her grandfather.

"Seto doesn't have any secrets!" Mokuba nearly yelled.

Seto slowly turned his head, his face a dark warning.

"Well, none that are anyone else's business but his own," Mokuba amended quietly.

"Look it up, dumbass," said a muffled female voice.

"Shut-up, before I give Teddy a cottony neck stump where his head used to be!" Mokuba threatened, disturbing everyone in the room. "Just joking," he assured during the awkward silence.

Hawkins clasped both of his hands on Seto's shoulders. "Please Mr. Kaiba, we need your help."

Seto calmly removed the man's hands from him with barely disguised disgust, and took a step back. "Assuming that I do decide to burden myself with your problem, what would you have me do?"

Finally, the little girl let go of the old man, and approached the elder Kaiba. "Someone got bit the night before last, and when the full moon comes out tonight, there's going to be one confused and angry werewolf out there on the loose. We need you to find them, before they find someone else."

* * *

"Serenity! Are you okay?" Duke shouted into her bedroom door, restraining himself from pounding a fist it. "You didn't answer your phone! The front door was unlocked! Serenity!"

"Duke?" Came the muted reply from inside. Her voice sounded scratchy, and he could see no light from under the door.

Still, he sagged against the door in relief. "It's just me, Serenity. I haven't been able to get a hold of you all day."

"I'm sorry, Duke. I'm just not feeling well," said the voice behind the door. Then he heard sniffling, and decided to take a risk.

When Duke opened her bedroom door, he felt his heart drop and shatter like glass, and the sharp, brittle pieces sliced into his lungs, catching his breath. Serenity was sitting on the edge of her bed, hugging herself. Tear streaks were running down her face, and her almond-shaped brown eyes were shining from beneath her wet eyelashes. She held a hand tightly over her mouth to disguise the sobs that racked her body, her brows knit together.

"Oh, Serenity..." With something like panic, he stumbled over to comfort her. "_Please_," he begged when she turned away to hide her face behind her long hair. "What's wrong?" Duke had never seen her so upset before, and with each tear that trailed down her face, he felt a terrible sucking sensation like he was bleeding out onto the floor.

"I- I..." No longer able to conceal his concern, Duke threw himself beside her, immediately wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and she leaned her head into the crook of his neck, still weeping. He rested his chin on top of her soft tangerine hair, and placed a kiss to her scalp, feeling helpless.

They stayed like that for a while, until her cries softened and she stopped shaking, and Duke had never loved her more than when she gently wrapped her arms around his waist, and breathed into his shoulder, "I'm so glad I have you, Duke."

"I would be too."

Serenity pulled away from him. "What?"

"What's got you blue?" He asked instantly, with a tender smile.

Serenity's face had finally dried with silver streaks that caught the light running down vertically, but when she tried to answer his question, her eyes welled up again. She wiped at them, and tried her best to give a watery smile.

"I don't know what to do. It's crazy..."

"You can tell me." Duke shifted an arm around her shoulder again, and did the half-lidded- upturned-lip-head-tilt move he'd practiced in the mirror a few weeks before.

Serenity took a deep breath, and moved her head right next to his so that she could whisper in his ear. Duke shivered at the feel of her breath tickling the hairs behind his ear. When she spoke, her hushed little girl voice almost made his eyes roll back in their sockets.

And then he tried to comprehend what he thought she'd actually said.

"What?! You think you're a _what_?!"

At his reaction Serenity got up off her bed and walked over to her window, her back turned to him. "I was afraid that you wouldn't understand..."

Duke shook his head. "No, Serenity, I-"

"I don't know how to tell Joey. And what would my parents say?" She inhaled a shaky breath, and would not look at him.

Duke's throat had gone dry. He really _didn't_ know what the hell she was talking about. He hadn't heard her. _Was it his fault that she smelled distractingly like vanilla? No. Was it his fault that he lost control of his basic motor functions whenever she got too close to him? No! Was it his fault that he'd fantasized that he would find her crying someday and then comfort her and then she would be like, "I want you, Duke," and then he would be all "I've always known," and then ... _Crap.

He shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "Well, Serenity, I'm sure that they would accept you even if... uh... no matter what," he finished lamely.

Taking him by surprise, Serenity whipped around and yelled, "but I'm a _murderer_!"

Duke almost fell off the bed. "_What!?_"

She had never looked so solemn before. "I had a dream last night. I... I killed someone. A dog."

He was torn between laughing and choking down his laughter. "A dog isn't a person, Serenity. And it was just a dream..."

"I wish so much that it was," She murmured wistfully, and retrieved a sheet of paper off of her computer desk. Carefully, like it was that bird's egg she'd found in her backyard years ago, she handed the document to Duke, and waited, ashamed, for his reaction to it.

He scanned it, frowning. And then he handed it back to her. "Uh huh?" He still had no idea what had her upset about it. "It says that the dog is still _alive_ though-"

"Barely! And didn't you see how close they found the dog? He was the neighbors'! The one that bit me a few nights ago!" She seemed so distraught over the possibility of injury (not even _death_) of the vicious animal that had brutally attacked her that Duke had to laugh.

"Serenity! It says that a wolf mauled it. What are you even talking about it?" Duke asked, still laughing.

She looked hurt. "Didn't you hear me? I _know_ that it wasn't just a dream, Duke. I... I think I'm a were-dog."

Duke felt the guilt stab his gut before the first bubbles of bursting laughter even hit him.

Serenity looked like she wanted to cry again. _This is not my fault! _Duke forced himself to stop laughing, and pretended as though he'd done nothing more than give an amused chuckle.

"That's... silly, Serenity." He was trying very hard. He didn't want to laugh at her, but she was just too cute. "First off, you said that you had the dream last night. The dog was attacked two nights ago-"

"The same night that I was attacked," she interrupted, nodding her head. "Isn't that a little suspicious?"

"Not really Serenity. I mean, I was here with you until you went to sleep. Trust me, you didn't hurt anyone or anything." He softened his skeptical tone, and gazed into her watery hazel eyes. "_You wouldn't_."

She ignored his Casanova routine and started pacing around her bedroom floor. "I wish Joey were here."

Duke made an effort to hold in the aggravation that always accompanied her brother's name. "Isn't he supposed to be, to fix the roof or something?" He asked in monotone.

Serenity turned away from him, and watched outside as the last flickers of daylight faded away with the pink and purple horizon. "He was supposed to be here before dark. I called him yesterday to see if he got home okay, and he said he was sick. I'm really worried about him..."

"What's new?" Duke muttered bitterly to himself.

"He doesn't seem like himself. He said that he was just worried about me, but I've got a terrible feeling that something bad is going to happen..." She resumed pacing, the delicate features of her face marred in anxiety.

Serenity's words blurred together unheard by Duke, like the oft-repeated legal warning before a movie. "Uh-huh. Joey. Terrible. _Yup_."

Serenity stopped abruptly in front of the window and hugged herself, her eyes locked on the hazy pale glow in the sky, half-disguised by clouds.

"Tonight's a full moon, Duke. I think you should go." She sounded so serious, so _assertive_, Duke felt like he was sitting in a room with a stranger.

"Serenity, you can't really believe that you're a werewolf..."

"Were-_dog_. The neighbor's _dog_ was named Killer." She sighed shakily. "Before I killed _him_."

This wasn't funny anymore. Duke could handle a weepy, needy Serenity. He wasn't so sure he knew how to deal with a self-assuredly morbid one. He decided to humor her, and maybe she would listen to herself and see how unreasonable she sounded.

"All right. So, let's say you are a "were-dog." How can you become one if it wasn't a full moon yet when the dog bit you?"

Serenity's shoulders tensed up in thought, then she turned and joined him on the bed. Duke could see the change that came over her when she realized that he was taking her seriously for once, and made a silent memo on how adorable she was when she was being earnest.

"Maybe..." Her eyes were thoughtfully focused on the bedspread, and he could hardly see her face through her long bangs. "Maybe a were-dog doesn't have to be in were-dog form when it bites you? Maybe the bite transfers the disease _any _time it bites someone?"

"Why don't we call you a were-_girl_ then, since the dog was a dog, and you're a gi-?"

"Duke!" She was annoyed at him, and Duke had never seen her look hotter.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, lying.

"That dream I had was _too_ real. It felt more like a memory. What if I changed into a were-dog, and went after the one who made me that way?"

Duke sighed in frustration. "..Then how did you change if it wasn't a full moon?"

Serenity jumped up off the bed, and set into her now-familiar pacing routine. "Even if you aren't in were-dog form, you're still a were-dog. So maybe if it's close to-"

Duke interrupted her, failing at masking his smirk. "I'm sorry, Serenity, but can we _please_ just say _werewolf_? I am _this_ close to cracking up every time you say it, and I really don't want to hurt your feelings again."

She regarded him silently, unreadable. Then, "Joey would believe me."

The phone rang.

Neither she nor Duke said anything when she retrieved the phone off her nightstand, and the two wouldn't look at each other.

"Hello?"

Duke stared at the floral-print of her bed spread, picking at a tiny purple stitch.

"_Hello?_"

"Joey? Is that you?" Finally, Duke chanced a glance at her, and her fear was palpable by the way she was clutching the plastic handset.

"What's wrong?" Duke asked half-heartedly, still dejected by her dismissal of him.

"I think it's Joey... but he's- he's grunting or something. Joey?!" Serenity was yelling into the phone, on the edge of tears again.

"Let me talk to him," Duke suggested, in a last ditch effort to win back her favor. He took the phone from her shaking hand. "Hey Joey, it's Duke. What's goin' on, man, you're scaring the hell out of your sister."

_**"GGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAWWWWWWW!"**_

"Whoa!" Duke dropped the phone in surprise.

"What happened?! What did he say?"

"I don't think it's Joey, Serenity." Duke backed away from the discarded phone as if would attack him. "My question is how the hell did Godzilla manage to make a collect call?"

Gingerly, Serenity knelt to collect the phone, and placed the receiver to her ear. Duke watched nervously from his position squished up against the wall as her eyes widened, and she looked up at him, her face paling.

"He didn't sound so angry until he heard your voice, Duke. It's definitely Joey."

Before Duke could reply, a metallic grating and rumbling filtered in through the walls from outside.

"That's Joey's truck!" Serenity ran out of the room, heading for the front door.

Duke waited until her footfalls were distant to throw himself to the floor, and scramble to squeeze underneath Serenity's bed.

He couldn't help but notice that the truck pulling up seemed louder than normal, but it probably had something to do it not stopping in the driveway, and instead plowing into the living room wall.

The whole house shook, and Duke heard things rattling and crashing to the floor in between Serenity's screams. He curled up and covered his head, halfway under the bed. When the dust had settled and things stopped falling over, he struggled onto his knees.

"_Serenity!_" He called out, terrified, and overwhelmed with a sweeping sense of guilt for his own cowardice.

He didn't hear a response for at least twelve seconds, and he didn't think that he could go on counting much longer if it represented how much time that he'd been forced to live without Serenity.

"Joey?! Is that you?!"

Duke got up and barreled towards Serenity's panicked shouting.

The living room was a nightmare. The green front-end of the truck sticking out of the wall had pushed everything forward and knocked it over. Pictures, furniture, shelves, electronics, keepsakes: nothing was spared Joey's destruction. Serenity stood a few feet to the left of the grill of the truck, and was backing away slowly, her hands covering her mouth.

The driver's side door jerked open with a squeal, raining plaster further into the room when the edge scraped the decimated wall. Duke hardly recognized the driver.

A crouching man with long, shaggy blonde hair down his back lurched towards Serenity, but she didn't scream like Duke would have if the beast were headed for him. It was grunting in some animalistic attempt at speech, bestial growls escaping from deep in its chest. He saw that its face was also hairy, and it sported a light beard and long sideburns. The creature's eyebrows were so bushy and thick that it had a unibrow, and the edges nearly grew into its sideburns. It looked up from the gnarled, clutching claws of its hands, and focused its eerie yellow eyes on Duke. Its jaws opened to reveal a mouth full of sharp teeth, and saliva dribbled down its chin.

**"GRRRRRRAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!"**

"_**Joey! No!**_"Serenity shrieked.

Duke caught a fleeting glimpse of the full moon hanging impassively in the sky behind the open wall above Joey's truck on the way down as he was propelled backwards when the brutish animal attacked him. The back of his head hit the floor hard, and the world got hazy and soft, and gradually it got dark. All that he could see was blond hair, and snatches of the white ceiling.

Serenity was crying hysterically from far away, an unfamiliar male voice shouted something, and two gunshots echoed, but he didn't hear them.

Here, where Duke was, it was quiet.

* * *

"The smart thing to do is begin trusting your intuitions." - A fortune cookie

* * *

Author's Notes: Yeah, Serenity... who cares if Duke thinks you're nuts? Something weird is going on.

Finally, a new chapter. This fic is my labor of love, and I'm trying to "move it along" to the good stuff. I don't even have all of the main characters introduced yet, and it's already the fourth chapter. I changed it back to "Supernatural" a while back, because I decided that the "Fantasy" category reminded me too much of that movie trilogy with the hobbits and all the elves and the flaming vagina and all that epic...ness. But really, the Supernatural stuff isn't the main focus. This isn't "Underworld," folks. It's going to be more like, "this is Joey, he's a ruffian goofball who _just happens_ to be a werewolf." And the intricacies of that "affliction" alone are rife with comedy, so lucky me.

Is Duke dead? He kind of had it coming, what with his perception of Serenity as a harmless little baby doll... Review, and let me know if he should make it out alive, as well as what else you thought of the chapter. Either way, you'll find out next update!


End file.
